Forgotten Family
by countryprincess
Summary: 10 years post BD. The Cullens are living in Chicago and Nessie befriends a human who has been seduced by a vampire,Joham, who intentds to impregnate her. When the Cullens confront Joham, Edward discovers that he may have a living relative
1. Preface

**Preface**

Chicago 1904

After everything that happened to her, even as she lay bleeding on the filthy ground of the dank Chicago alley, she could not bring herself to be angry at the man who put her in this situation. She knew she was dying. She knew that she had minutes, if not seconds, left, for there was no way in heaven or hell that she could survive her wounds. But, to have avoided this fate she would have never been able to lay her eyes on the beautiful being that was flailing in the arms of her best friend. This child had been her demise, yet she still loved the green-eyed baby girl.

The 18 year old mother couldn't even hate the man, or rather her angel-demon, who had used her to produce an offspring that he knew would kill her. All the girl could do was use what few seconds she had left to admire and love her child and to reflect on all the people she will leave behind. She had ran away from a loving family in pursuit of what she thought was true love. She thought about how her family may or may not find her, how her parents would be far beyond heartbroken, but most of all she thought of her baby brother who had probably turned 3 by now.

Not being able to see her brother grow up was her biggest regret. For most of her life she had hoped and prayed that her parents would give her a younger sibling, for she saw all her friends with theirs and she wanted a little brother more than anything. She was an only child till she was 15 and finally her mother became pregnant and gave birth to the most beautiful baby boy anyone had ever seen. He favored their mother just like she had, green eyes, bronze hair, high cheekbones, the works. She loved her brother more than anything, that is, until she discovered that she carried her own child.

The child grew far more quickly than a normal baby and she had torn her mother apart during her birth, but the dying girl willingly gave her life for her child. As she lay dying in the disgusting alley, she turned to her friend and asked to hold the child before she passed. She gazed into the baby girls shockingly intelligent eyes and with her final breath she croaked out one last broken statement "Her name… Elizabeth… be sure…she is loved"

**********************************************************************************

A/N

Ok so…this is my first story so let me know what you think. The preface is really a flashback for a character that will be introduced later. Anyway…let me know what you think and I will post the next chapter (Moving Day, which is in modern time) very soon. Thanks to my beta Kari of Mindelan!

Thanks for reading,

Jonsie


	2. Moving Day

**Moving Day**

Dartmouth 2018(ten years after Breaking Dawn)

Bella taped up the last box and looked around the building that had been her, Edward's, and Renesme's home for the past 4 years. "Well…that's the last one." She said to her groaning husband.

"Is it really the last one? Cause you said that about the last four boxes and I had to rearrange the whole thing to make room for 'just one more'.

"I am positive this is the last one…there are no more boxes in this house."

With that, the box was in the trailer and Edward was back in the house with a crooked grin plastered on his face. Even after 10 years of marriage he still dazzles her with that smile. Before Bella could act on her most recent "dazzling" by her husband, Renesme walked through the door.

"Eww guys…do your poor daughter's eyes a favor and get a room." Playfully shielding her chocolate brown eyes she fled back out the door and to the cars. Bella and Edward's eyes followed her bouncing curls to the black Aston Martin.

"Don't _even _think about it young lady!" said a terrified Edward.

"Yeah right…you of all people should know that it's already too late!" Renesme already had the keys and taunted her father with thoughts of driving the car on the highway without any supervision.

Edward rolled his eyes and sped to the vehicle to rescue his favorite car from the dangerous clutches of his daughter. Before Renesme could react, she was slung over her father's shoulder with the keys quickly out of her hands. As Bella watched father and daughter playfully bicker over who was to drive what vehicle she reflected on the last ten years.

*************************************************************************************

_The year after Renesme was born the Cullens had moved to Alaska to allow her to grow up with her family and have as normal of a childhood as she possibly could have. In the remote Alaska, Nessie did not have to worry about hiding from humans as much as she would have in Forks. She could venture out of the house and not worry about meeting someone she would see in close enough intervals that they would be suspicious. _

_Nessie was able to grow up with her family and her Jacob nearby, even though her childhood would not last nearly long enough in her family's eyes. _

_After Renesme was full grown, the Cullen's split up temporarily to allow for some individual family time. Emmett and Rosalie went on yet another "honeymoon" in Europe. Carlisle and Esme stayed in Alaska and taught at the College in Denali. Jasper and Alice moved to a town just outside of New York, so that Alice could enjoy fashion heaven. Jacob went back to La Push (after much persuading on Edward's part) to check on his pack. And finally Edward, Bella and Renesme moved to Dartmouth. Edward, Bella and Renesme enjoyed their time together as a small family. While they loved the other Cullens, they needed time alone. _

_At Dartmouth, Edward once again pursued a pre-med major, Bella was a classical literature major and Renesme majored in Native American studies. Edward at first wasn't so keen on Renesme's choice of major but Jacob appreciated it and thus it made her happy. And if the princess was happy daddy was happy. Even though they were across the country, Edward, Bella and Renesme always traveled back to Forks to visit Charlie, Jacob and the pack, then to Alaska to visit Carlisle and Esme during their college breaks. Alice and Jasper lived close enough that they visited Dartmouth often, but the visits usually became a monumental shopping spree with Nessie and Aunt Alice._

_After they had all gotten their bachelor degrees, the Cullens decided that it was time that they found another ideal place to live all together. Nessie had been becoming curious about her family history, and since her father only remembered so much, she at least wanted to visit his hometown and see what she could dig up on the Masen family history. _

_Eventually, the Cullen clan decided to move to Chicago and the younger ones would register for high school, yet again, but this time with the addition of Renesme. The original plan was for Jacob to also register for school but they decided that he just looked too old so he applied for a job as a mechanic instead. Today was the day that Bella, Edward and Renesme would pack up and meet the rest of the family in Chicago. _

_*************************************************************************************_

"Mercy, Mercy! I give up…I promise not to drive the Vanquish without your careful supervision!" Renesme screamed while she tried to wrestle from her dad's steel grip.

"That's a good child. Now to make sure that you've learned your lesson I believe that somebody needs a spanking."

Nessie started really squirming at this point, "What?! I'm far too old to need one of those!"

"Nonsense, you're only 10."

"Fine then scratch that. I'm far too _big _to need a spanking!"

"Nope. As long as I have you incapacitated mom can come and take care of that for me." Edward winked at Bella and she came over and playfully swatted Nessie on the hiney while she was still slung over Edward's shoulder.

"Not cool guys. Can I get down now?"_ I guess I'll just have to drive the Volvo; I really don't want to drive while pulling the trailer._ Nessie thought as she climbed down.

"Absolutely not! I will not have you driving while pulling anything behind the vehicle!"

_Great…back into overprotective dad mode. I'm really not looking forward to seeing how he acts around Jacob._

"Well what else do you suggest? I have to drive something. You can't have three cars and two drivers." _ Besides mom practically bites anyone's head off if they even look at the steering wheel of the Ferrari. _

As if on cue a yellow Porsche and a silver Ducati motorcycle pulled into the driveway. Out of the Porsche hopped a typically overexcited pixie, "Hey guys, I saw your dilemma and came to the rescue…you know you love me"

Bella cocked an eyebrow, "Alice, how does adding two more vehicles solve anything?"

"We put the Ducati in the trailer; have Jasper drive the Volvo, everyone else drive their respected vehicles and Nessie rides with one of us."

Just the thought of not having Nessie drive relaxed Edward. No matter how well a girl drives, her daddy will always have a heart attack when she is behind the wheel, even if said daddy's heart is technically dead.

The two families made it to Chicago without any delay, due to Alice's prediction of the traffic patterns, and reunited with the rest of the Cullens and Jacob right as the sun had set into twilight.

"Nessie!" boomed an ecstatic Jacob. Before Nessie could even open the door of the Volvo herself, Jacob had her out and was swinging her in his arms.

_Darn imprinting, _thought Edward, _you'd think he hadn't seen her for a hundred years rather than months._ All it took for Jacob to put her down was one growl from vampire daddy.

The Cullens focused on getting Renesme's room set up so that she could go to sleep. Her white and brass rod- iron bed was carefully set up, her hardwood bedroom furniture was placed and filled (mostly thanks to Alice) and bed was made up with a Quileute made blanket. Nessie would later work with Esme and Alice to decide on further decorations.

For Nessie and Jake, it's rather annoying to be the only ones in the family that need sleep, though they don't need as much as normal humans, they still need to rest when the rest of the family doesn't.

What's worse, Jake also has to live under the same roof as the father of his future love interest. Jake assumes the role of whatever Nessie needs and eventually that will be lifetime companion, but right now his role is that of big brother and since Edward reads minds big brother is all Jake is going to be for a while. Also having an apartment above the garage that is on the opposite end of the house from Nessie's room doesn't help much either.

Regardless of any awkward situation that has risen because of the Cullen family gathering, everyone is happy to be back together. As Nessie drifts off to sleep to the sound of Edward's grand piano, she dreams of what her new life in Chicago will hold for her.

*************************************************************************************

A/N

I just realized that I made the mistake of not putting a disclaimer on the preface so this applies to the preface and chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own anything…iz just a poor college student that will probably never own anything *tear*

Anyway…please tell me what you think. I really want to know if anyone enjoys this and if anyone has any pointers for a new writer.

Thanks for reading,

Jonsie


	3. High School

**High School…here we go again**

"Can we make a decision already?! I don't want to be late for my first round of high school!" Nessie had finally had enough of this argument.

"It's not my fault that we only have one inconspicuous car." Bella said while glaring at Edward.

Edward raised his hands declaring his innocence "We haven't had to worry about the Volvo being filled before, so stop looking at me like that."

"Well we can't take the Mercedes cause that is the only one that Carlisle has registered at the hospital parking lot. And everything else is too good for high school," said Rosalie.

"I think ostentatious is the word you're looking for," retorted Edward.

"Speak for yourself Mr. I-Drive-A-Bond-Car."

"Touché"

"This isn't getting us anywhere," pointed out Nessie, "Alice what car do you see us taking?"

Alice just shrugged her shoulders "No one's made a decision yet."

"Some psychic you are."

"Can't be helped."

Suddenly the sound of a protesting engine came from the garage and Jacob came running in with a triumphant grin and engine oil plastered to his face.

_Problem solved!_ Jacob thought while breaking out into a mental victory dance since he is too manly for a real one. _Am I or am I not the greatest mechanic ever?!_

Edward rolled his eyes, "Jacob you don't have to shout. And I don't think any one of us is willing to drive that thing."

Everyone was eyeing Edward and Jacob with a look of bewilderment.

"Jacob just got the Rabbit running again," Edward informed everyone.

"I don't see why you refuse to drive it. It is a perfectly sound piece of machinery and defiantly suits your 'inconspicuous' profile," Jake argued, no one puts his baby down.

"Aw great," muttered Alice and Edward.

"What's wrong? What did you see, Alice?" asked Bella.

"The decision has been made," Alice groaned, "Bella and Nessie are taking the Rabbit and the rest of us will ride in the Volvo."

"Yea I win!" cheered Jake.

"We're getting another car as soon as possible," vowed Edward.

"Don't worry Jake I'll dr…"began Nessie.

"Who say's your driving?"interrupted Edward.

"Fine…I'll ride in it with pride."Nessie hugged Jake goodbye and got in the Rabbit with Bella.

"You sound just like me when Charlie gave me the truck," Bella explained once she and Renesme were on the road "I vowed to drive it with pride and by god I did. I don't know how Edward tolerated it. Then I didn't understand why he hated my truck so much but now I see how frustrating it must have been to have the built in speed limit."

"Sure, sure," Nessie said while rolling her eyes, quite a combination of habits picked up from Edward and Jacob.

Like the rest of her family, Renesme liked to drive 'fast'. But she still appreciated a car with personality such as the Rabbit and vowed to drive it through the city and enjoy every minute of it!

The Cullen caravan pulled into Fox River High with time to spare. Before entering the school, the Cullens stood among the cars to iron out some details.

Alice, as usual, took control of the situation, "Alright, Edward, Nessie, Emmet and I are the adopted kids. Edward, Nessie looks too much like you so you two need to be siblings of some sort."

Edward added his two cents, "Twins will probably be the best bet. We look too close in age."

"That works; anyway, Rosalie, Jasper, and Bella are foster kids. Jasper and Rosalie are twins and Bella is the cousin."

Renesme was confused at this point, "Wait…two sets of twins? Isn't that a little strange?"

"The humans will think we're strange enough as it is Nes," Emmett shrugged.

"I guess that's o.k."

After everyone's roles were assigned, the Cullen's divided up and went to class. The Cullen's had arranged their schedules so that they always had at least two siblings in the classroom in order to keep each other in check. Nessie's first class, algebra/trigonometry, was with Jasper and went by in a haze. Her second-class, World History I, was with Edward and was made interesting by the teacher and a student that she knew she would befriend.

Nessie and Edward walked into Mr. Harris' world history classroom and were immediately assigned seats away from each other. Edward almost growled at having to be separated from Nessie's thoughts stopped him in his tracks.

_Dad no scaring the humans yet…it's only the first day._ Edward groaned and went to his seat on the opposite end of the room without any further complaints.

The girl Nessie was seated next to was about 15 years old and had a friendly look about her. The girl smiled widely but not creepily at Nessie.

"Hi, I'm Becca. It seems we're to endure class together." Becca was probably the friendliest looking person that Nessie had ever seen. Her smile easily reached her kind blue-grey eyes, which were easily visible because her hair was pulled back in to a very thick and bushy light brown ponytail. Her hair obviously had a mind of its own, since some curly wisps around her brow and above her small ears refused to go with the rest of her hair into the ponytail. Her wide smile also caused dimples to form on her heart-shaped face and her nose crinkled slightly.

_She seems nice enough…nothing wrong with getting to know my classmates._ With a quick glance at Edward, who nodded approvingly, Nessie decided to go ahead and talk to the friendly human.

"I'm Renesme, and my twin brother is Edward. The antisocial looking one in the corner." Edward had a seat to himself in the corner and was already scaring off the poor humans with a 'don't bother me' look.

"Well, I'm going to fix that," vowed Becca, "if he really wants to be left alone then I won't bother him, but he looks like the type that doesn't let 'just anyone' in. He's just picky about who he befriends."

"Wow…you're very observant," Nessie concluded.

"Nah, I think of every possibility with a person. I try to never jump to conclusions."

"That's good to know..." Nessie began before she was interrupted by the teacher.

Becca leaned in and whispered "I've heard good things bout this teacher, apparently he was once a semi-pro baseball player and half the class is spent on his stories."

"Edward will like this then." Nessie glanced over at Edward who was already chuckling to himself, no doubt the result of reading the teachers mind and knowing what story we were going to hear.

After fifty minutes of baseball talk, caveman history, and conversations in the first caveman languages known as T.P.G (touch point grunt) the bell rang and everyone dispersed to go to the next class before lunch.

Nessie looked down at her schedule and realized that she had no idea where her next class was located. So she turned to the ever helpful Becca.

"Becca can you wait up for a second? I have no idea how to get to the gym."

"Don't worry I'll take you there. It's right across from my next class anyway." Becca seemed quite pleased with that fact and helped Nessie wind through the swarm of students towards the gym. Nessie was actually quite thankful for Becca's bouncy ponytail, which was thick enough to pass for a real pony's tail, cause it made her easy to follow in a crowd.

"You'll get used to the madness that is the hallways we know and really don't love," Becca said as she turned into the choir room that was in the same hall as the gym entrance.

Gym with Alice was everything Nessie expected it to be…a necessary evil! Nothing was more boring or frustrating to a vampire and a hybrid than a human gym class. Every movement had to be restrained in order to remain inconspicuous. And Nessie really didn't appreciate the boys staring at her legs which were exposed by her gym shorts.

After gym was over, Nessie and Alice ran into Becca on the way to the cafeteria. Becca and Alice immediately cliqued, their personalities matched perfectly. Once in the cafeteria Becca ran to meet up with her other friends and made sure to introduce Nessie and Alice to them.

After meeting a table full of humans, Alice and Nessie made their way to the rest of the family.

"So, how was everyone's first day back in purgatory?" Emmett being the first to welcome Alice and Nessie to the table.

"I don't know how I'm going to handle one year of gym…much less two!" Nessie exclaimed.

"Just be glad that this school only requires two years. Forks required all four. It's too bad Bella isn't as clumsy anymore…she could have at least provided some entertainment that way." Emmett was only telling the complete truth…but after one look from Bella he shut his mouth.

Everyone else at the table was having a relatively entertaining 'lunch break' by exchanging stories about human behavior, but Edward for some reason looked angry and ready to pounce and kill something.

While keeping the look of a pleasant conversation everyone questioned Edward with their thoughts.

Bella lifted her shield briefly, _Edward what's going on?_

_Edward you need to calm down or I will make you. You're making me want to kill those human boys as well._

_Nessie is clouding my vision, I can't see far enough ahead of time to stop you if you decide to kill someone. So, DON'T BE STUPID!_

_IF you make us move again I swear your car will be unrecognizable!_

_Dude, Rose is gonna destroy your car if you make us move again so chill out. _

_Dad what's going on? _

Eventually Edward had enough, "Guys stop…it's really annoying when you're talking on top of each other."

"Alright then, tell us what is making you send death glares to that table of boys," Bella inquired.

"Well love, I'm used to hearing the daydreams of hormonal teenagers and they still make me gag. But, now they are no longer just about my brothers, sisters, and even my wife, but now RENESME!" As if on cue, a boy leaned back in his chair to get a better look at Nessie. Edward was about to head after the boy but Nessie sat on him just in time to keep him from getting up.

"Figured that this worked better than stealing a chair." She explained with a mischievous grin.

Before lunch break was over, Alice alerted everyone to an unexpected visitor to their table, "Incoming human in about 45 seconds."

Just as Alice said, Becca trotted over to the Cullens table. "Hey Nessie, I was wondering where your next class was and I wanted to meet the rest of your family." Nessie quickly introduced everyone who reacted unexpectedly.

_I like what I see in Becca's mind…she seems trustworthy, kind and as optimistic as Alice._

_I can't wait to take this girl to the city and shop! It doesn't look like it'll be too long._

_Alice is happy…Becca seems…cheerful, curious, and excited. I wonder what she is so excited about…maybe meeting new people?_

_I'd be willing to bet money that Alice is planning on taking her shopping…I hope she is a good friend for Renesme…she needs human exposure._

_I hope this human doesn't cause much trouble. I love Bella and Nessie but…I really don't want my family in danger again._

_I hope Nessie brings her to the house sometime…things have been dull since Bella became coordinated…I need some human entertainment!_

As Nessie and Becca compared schedules everyone behaved civilly.

As it turns out, Nessie had nearly all of her classes with Becca!

After the bell rang, Nessie, Emmet, Rosalie, and Becca headed off to Spanish. Becca provided entertainment in Spanish class because she was actually learning it, unlike the vampires who had taken the language many times.

After Spanish, Nessie and Becca made their way across the school and met Bella in Advanced English. Bella had passed her love of the classics on to Nessie who now began sharing it with Becca. After reading the schedule for the year, Nessie realized that Bella would be very happy with this class because they will have to read _Wuthering Heights. _Nessie just hoped that her mother would not get into a too heated discussion over her favorite book.

The last class of the day was one that Nessie's parents took together for sentimental reasons, biology. Nessie made sure to sit with Becca and not between her parents because she felt that she was intruding on their special moments together.

Becca noticed that the tension between Edward and Bella was…high, "I feel like I'm intruding on something I shouldn't." Becca whispered to Nessie in the middle of class.

"No kidding. I know they're just sitting in class and not doing anything but…you could cut the tension with a knife!"

"I don't mean to sound judgmental or anything but…isn't she like your adopted sister or something like that?"

"No, Bella, Jasper and Rosalie are foster kids. Emmett, Alice, Edward, and I are all adopted. I guess them being together is weird cause they live together, but it's been going on for so long I really don't care anymore."

"Well that make since. I hope they stay this…excited about each other. They seem like a happy couple."

"You have no idea."

After class was over, Nessie and Becca exchanged phone numbers with the promise of hanging out sometime later.

By the time the Cullens got home, Alice already had an epic shopping trip to the city and a sleepover planned for the weekend. Nessie feared for her future best friend's sanity that would more than likely be lost once Alice was done.


	4. Friendship

**Friendship **

Becca had no idea what she was getting into when she agreed to go shopping with Alice and Renesme.

Alice had woken her up at 7:30 on a Saturday morning and expected her to be bright eyed and bushy tailed…on a Saturday in the freakin MORNING! For Becca, Saturdays were reserved for sleeping in and if anyone bothered her before noon someone had better be dead or else the disturber was gonna die! But, Becca liked Alice and was promised coffee so she didn't go on a homicidal rampage… yet.

Becca learned very quickly that Alice meant business when it came to shopping. The store that Alice first led them too was enormous and was full of designer clothes that Becca would never have even considered even trying on.

"Alice?! I can't afford anything in this store," said Becca as her eyes widened at the sheer size of the store, "It'll take forever to go through it anyway."

"Ah, just watch, learn, and catch anything I throw at you."

The shopping that Becca was used to was slow and tedious because her mother would search diligently through just about every rack in the store. Alice, however, wasted no time at a rack. She never took more than a few seconds to find what she needed in one rack, threw the article in the ever growing piles in Becca and Renesme's arms, and then quickly moved to another.

"I've never seen anyone shop as fast as you. Aren't you even going to see if this stuff fits?"

"No worries, young grasshopper, I can tell that you are about a size six but that you need longer pant legs, chocolate brown goes great with your hair and that you can wear black without looking dead. Now a little trust please… these will look perfect on you."

"Seriously Becca, Alice knows what she's doing. Just let her work her magic," Nessie promised.

"Wait…you can't seriously be shopping for me! I can't afford this kind of stuff!"

"Whoa calm down," Alice said as she tried to reassure a panicked Becca, "First of all…never refer to these pieces of art as 'stuff'. Secondly, you don't need to worry cause you're not paying for any of this."

"I…I can't accept that. It's too much! My parents will flip if they see these clothes. I can't let you spend so much on me. "

"Becca it's really nothing. You can tell your parents that there was a sale. Now…let me spend my upgraded allowance in whatever way I please."

"Upgraded allowance?" Becca questioned Nessie as Alice moved onto the next rack.

Nessie giggled and whispered, "A.K.A…the usage of Daddy's credit card."

After Alice sped through the store she declared that it was lunchtime (for the human of course).

The girls made their way to the food court where Nessie and Becca got in line and Alice made the excuse absolutely neeeeeding to go to another store while they ate.

"Is your sister really not going to eat anything?"

"Alice is what you might call an 'extreme shopper'. Once she gets started no physical need is great enough to break her focus."

"Strange…I used to hate shopping when I was little. My mom would have to bribe me with an Auntie Annie's pretzel to make me come to the mall." Just the thought of Auntie Annie's was making Becca's mouth water.

"Why don't you go get your pretzel and I'll hit up the sushi place." Nessie could eat human food but still preferred blood. But she discovered that meat cooked on the rare side or raw (such as sushi) agreed pretty well with her hybrid taste buds.

As Nessie and Becca waited for Alice they decided to get to know each other better.

During the conversation, Nessie decided that Becca had a very contagious personality. If she was happy, you were happy. If something made her upset, you couldn't help but be upset with her. She was loyal and secure in her values, and had very nurturing tendencies towards all living beings.

For example, Becca was very passionate about the appropriate care of animals. Meaning if there was an animal in need, Becca could not keep from giving it a loving home. At the moment, Becca had in her care two dogs and three cats all of which are rescues.

_Note to self…stay away from Becca's house when hunting, _Nessie thought.

Nessie and Becca also discovered that they shared a similar passion…music. Becca's goal in life was to become a composer and possibly perform her own work. Which explained the choir class.

Before Nessie could start bragging about her father's grand piano Alice came trotting into the food court carrying who knows how many bags.

Becca gazed at the bags in disbelief and Nessie just shook her head asking her favorite aunt, "Alice…how did you go to that many stores while we were eating?"

"You should be thanking me! Taking you two with me would have just wasted the time that we will be spending with makeovers!"

Nessie looked at the bags in mock horror and turned to Becca, "Run now, save yourself it's too late for me!"

"Don't even think about it! I may be small but I can definitely take you down!"

"Oh I wouldn't doubt it," chuckled Becca, "Come on Nessie, Alice can't be that bad."

"You just wait till she gets _you_ in the chair of doom," promised Nessie.

"Don't you dare insult the chair of beautification! I have done some of my best work in that chair. Now, let's get these bags in the car. Jake should be there by now."

"Why is Jake meeting us? I thought he was forbidden from girl days since he punched the sales guy in New York."

Alice cocked and eyebrow, "Do you really think we could fit all this in the Porsche?"

By now Becca was curious, "Who's Jake? And what is this New York incident?"

Nessie blushed too deep to be able to say anything, so Alice had to step in, "Jake is a very good friend of the family that is living in the apartment above our garage. He and Nessie are what you might call…close. Anyway, he is very protective of her, so when this poor guy in New York was trying to alter one of Nessie's dresses, Jake thought he was overstepping the customer- merchant boundary and decided to hit the guy." Becca stared for a second then burst out laughing.

Nessie turned ever redder, "It's not funny Becca!"

"It is and you know it," Becca manage to say between laughs, "But hey, look at it this way: you've got a guy that cares about you enough to feel the need to 'defend your honor'. See it as a blessing cause there are not that many guys around that will do that. And even fewer that are available. Hang on to him, cause you don't wanna wind up like me, as single as it comes and probably gonna stay that way."

Alice immediately went into encouraging Oprah mode, "Now I'll have none of that depressing single talk. We are too young to have to worry about guys. And besides, at this age most guys only have their mind on one thing. So don't you go thinking that you're going to stay single. You've got plenty of time."

"I realize that. I guess I just see people like you and your family and feel lonely. I just want someone to hold me, to tell me that I'm beautiful, and that he loves me. I freakin hate Valentine's Day!"

"Well you need to be careful, cause there are manipulative guys out there that will take advantage of those feelings and use you. Besides, right now you have daddy to be your valentine."

"Oh don't worry about that Alice, I'm very firm in my values, abstinence all the way! And no guy can make me change my mind."

"Good girl, but remember we're only freshman! You shouldn't even need to be worrying about relationships right now!"

"I know, but my older sister is getting married and it just got me thinking about it lately."

"Well…stop thinking this is a girl's day. What you need are big brother figures to take care of you. You can borrow mine…they'll defend your honor and are fun to boss around."

Nessie took the opportunity to end the awkward conversation, "Alright ladies, let's go home and boss around the boys."

After a few hours of barking orders at the men of the household, the Esme, Edward and Bella cooking show, and the Alice and Rosalie beauty salon treatment, Becca was finally allowed to look in the mirror and see what Alice had done.

"O M _FREAKIN_ G ALICE! There is no way I'll ever go out in public like this!"

"What are you talking about? You look magnificent! No one dressed by me…"

"Ever looks like an idiot…WE KNOW!"Interrupted the entire Cullen household.

Becca was actually quite happy with how she looked. Alice had done wonders to tame her long wild hair so that it was down and flowed in classic waves. While she was doing Becca's hair, Alice discovered that Becca had a random blonde streak that was somehow hidden in the ponytail. Alice was about to chastise Becca of such a poor dye-job when Becca confirmed that it was completely natural. So, Alice decided to give Becca some natural looking blonde highlights to blend in the random streak so she wouldn't have to constantly wear her hair in a ponytail.

Becca's make-up was…dramatic. She had grey eye shadow, black eyeliner, and another layer or silver eyeliner. Alice decided that since she already had rosy cheeks, she didn't need blush, but needed some dark lipstick to counter the eye make-up. The hairstyle and make-up looked great but made Becca look 20 rather than 15.

The dress was…well a little black dress. It was actually quite tasteful. It fell very loosely on Becca's figure, reached below her knees, and had ¾ sleeves. However, the dress cut into a very low, very wide v-neck in the front, which made Becca very self cautious.

Becca blew her bangs out of her face before speaking, "I didn't say that I looked like an idiot Alice. I just mean that I have absolutely no reason to get this dolled up. I look like a vampire! Well…maybe not but seriously… when would I _ever_ where this dress and these heels in public?"

"Ummmmm…clubbing?"

"Hello… 15 here."

"Ummmm…school dance?"

"Dress code."

"Since when is there a dress code for a school dance?!"

"Since last year…when Whitney decided to wear a dress that would make the Hooter's girls blush."

"Ok…concert? Doesn't your choir concert require you to wear a dress?"

"We have uniforms unless we have an individual solo and the same dress code applies."

"Damn…"

"Alice LANGUAGE!" shouted Esme from downstairs.

"I got IT! Girls night out in the city!"

"I guess that works. I'll just make this my official little black dress."

If only Becca knew of the makeovers that Alice had planned in the future. For during that first shopping trip, a strong friendship began to take root that would develop throughout their High School career. A friendship that would be tested in the most extreme way.

*************************************************************************************

**A/n **

**Like it, hate it, love it? Please let me know by pushing that green button at the bottom of the page and reviewing! Sorry I haven't updated in a while but between work and sleep I have very little time on my hands *tear*.**

**Btw…the dress code thing is actually based off of my high school! There really was a dress code at the school dances because some girl came in a dress that made all the boys have to go to the locker rooms for cold showers. **

**I hope that you enjoyed it and thank you to those who have reviewed and alerted this story so far (I 3 you!) Next time we have dun dun dun…drama! **

**Thank you for reading,**

**Jonsie**


	5. Passing Time

**Passing Time**

Every High School senior is working towards one common goal…graduation. Their entire school career has pushed towards this goal and they are impatient to achieve the right-of-passage that is walking on graduation day. In all the anticipation brought on by graduation, a senior tends to wonder "Where did my life go? It seems like only yesterday that I was a freshman eager to start my High School career. Heck, I still wonder where my Junior High career went."

Similar thoughts went through Becca's mind as graduation approached her. She wondered where those four years went that were spent in happiness. She had gained many friends that she would never forget at Fox River High but also friendships that ran bone deep. She had a pack of friends in each activity but one friend that remained consistent: Renesme Cullen.

While Becca befriended each of the Cullens in a special way, her friendship with Nessie was especially strong. The other Cullens remained distant and spent their time with each other. But Nessie, who could pull off the human façade much more convincingly than the rest of her family, was able to safely spend time with human friends.

Sometimes when the Cullens would go 'camping', Nessie would stay behind and have hangout nights with Jacob and Becca, then kick out Jacob and have sleepovers with Becca. The Cullens absolutely adored Becca and loved the fact that Nessie could have friends outside of the family. Jake also appreciated having someone to hang out with that didn't reek.

In the months approaching graduation, most of Becca's time was spent on studying for exams and preparing for the senior showcase. The senior showcase was basically a talent show where the seniors got to show off their talents one last time.

The art students set up a magnificent gallery full of paintings, sketches and photographs. There were many different types of bands, including rock, jazz, brass quintets and some senior boys got the _brilliant _idea to form a mariachi band! Some drama students wrote and performed monologues, ten-minute plays, and improv skits. There were a few dance groups and soloists. But Becca would be competing as a vocal soloist.

Becca had been worrying about the showcase for months, and had been driving Nessie up the wall with her mini- breakdowns. First, it was whether or not to actually compete. Then, what songs to do and how to perform them. One thing Becca never worried about was what she would wear for the showcase because she knew Alice would take care of that for her. If Nessie thought these panic attacks were bad…she was in for one rude awakening two weeks before the showcase.

**********************************************************************************

Nessie had been enjoying a quite Thursday night when her cell-phone rang and a shrill voice from the other end nearly burst her eardrum.

"_**Nessie!**_ I'm in some serious trouble! MyvoiceteachercantplayformenowIdonthaveanaccompianest!"

"Umm Becca slow down honey. Take a deep breath and tell me again."

Nessie heard a shaky breath before Becca spoke, "My voice teacher was supposed to play the piano for me and now she can't and there is no way I can find someone willing to play for me with just two weeks notice."

"I'm sure there is someone who would be willing to play."

"I looked around but I haven't found anyone who could pull off this music with only two weeks of practice. I can't use the accompaniment track cause I messed with the arrangement too much."

Then, an idea came to Nessie that made Edward hide and Alice giggle with excitement.

"Becca, you forget that this is a family of musicians. Let me talk to my brother and see what he thinks. You'll perform at that showcase if it's the last thing that I do!"

After she hung up with Becca, Nessie began to form a plan of how to get Edward to actually play for anyone outside of the family. As soon as Nessie began to think about making him play for Becca, Edward sent a glare over to her that made her stop in her tracks.

Nessie knew that manipulation would never work with her father because of his extra hearing. The only one who has ever been successful in manipulating Edward was Bella. But Bella threw her hands up at this discussion saying, "You're on your own for this one," and settled on the couch next to Edward.

So Nessie put on her best begging face and didn't even bother speaking.

_Dad…Becca reaaaaaly needs you to do this. It could be fun. Just give it a try, please?_

"Renesme Carlie Cullen, you are not going to make me play for a high school event. I refuse to play pop songs for girls who can't hold a tune!"

_Come on you're only playing for Becca and you know she has a good voice. Besides, she has better musical taste than that…surely you know better. You could even help her with the arrangement…imagine how good she would be with your help._

"No, my music does not leave this house."

Nessie understood that her father was passionate about his music and only shared it with people who were very special to him. But, her friend needed help and Edward was the right person for the job.

_It would mean an awful lot to her…. and to me. _

With that Edward's resolve was seriously wavering and both Nessie and Bella could see it.

_Please, it would make me very happy._

Edward was backed in to a corner. Bella was watching him for the tell-tale signs of when he was about to cave. Then he closed his eyes, pinched the bridge of his nose and let out an exasperated sigh, Bella knew by this body language that he couldn't fight much longer. She made eye contact with her daughter and gave her a 'go for the kill' grin.

Nessie then sat on her father's lap like she did when she was a little girl and with the softest, sweetest voice she could muster she said the deadly words that make every father give in…

"Please Daddy?"

**********************************************************************************

In the two weeks leading up to the showcase, Becca was constantly at the Cullens practicing with Edward. Edward didn't need the practice because he could play the songs perfectly first time through, but he and his sisters helped Becca fine tune her performance.

Edward was actually quite happy with Becca's song selection. Because, unlike the other girls that were attempting to be pop stars, Becca had selected pieces from 1950's musicals that showed off the lower, jazzy part of her range. Edward hadn't realized, until he had met Becca and her music friends, that teens still appreciated what he felt was 'real' music. To Edward, all the good music had gone extinct after the fifties.

On the night of the showcase, Becca was a nervous wreck!

Backstage, poor Edward was doing the best he could to calm down the nervous girl. _Why me? Why can't Alice do this? Of all the lanquages I speak… I still don't speak 'teenage girl'. _

"Becca, there is nothing for you to worry about. You know these songs, you know the choreography, you look great, and you know what to do so don't worry about it."

"I can't _not_ worry about it! If I wasn't worrying about something I wouldn't know what to do with myself."

Edward could see in her mind that somewhere in there she had confidence in herself, he was just having a very difficult time pulling it out. At this point he really wished that he had Alice backstage in full Oprah mode along with Jasper ready to calm some nerves. But earlier he heard Alice's mind, aside from the amusement she felt at the thought of Edward dealing with a teenage girl, that she and Jasper were not needed, and Becca would pull through.

"Becca, you need to remember why you are doing this."

"To show my parents why it's not a stupid decision to go to music theater school?"

"No, because you love to perform. If you are not enjoying yourself on that stage then you don't need to be up there. You are not performing for anyone's sake but your own. Now you need to pull yourself together, get out on that stage and give it your best. Not because you need to prove anything but because you want to."

Edward was relieved to hear in her mind that his words helped, _Man… I am not cut out to handle teenage girls. _He was glad to help, but he is a guy and guys can only handle so many meltdowns.

When it came time for Becca to perform her first piece, she was shaking backstage but as soon as she took the step onto the stage she became a confident performer.

Becca's first song was called _Steam Heat; _it was used in the musical the _Pajama Game _and had been recorded by Patti Page in the 50's as a single. Becca's arrangement of the song was closer to the Patti Page version than the musical. She had lowered the key so it sat in the lower, sexier part of her vocal range. She also slowed the tempo so the song was less playful and became smoother and jazzier.

Alice had a lot of fun designing Becca's wardrobe for the night. For _Steam Heat, _Becca was dressed in a black full body leotard, a dark grey, long sleeve pinstripe jacket, a dark grey pinstripe fedora hat, and knee high black heeled boots. Alice completed the look with black gloves and white rhinestone bracelets. Becca's hair was left down so the thickness of her hair would balance out the hat perfectly.

Alice had dressed Edward in dark grey slacks, a matching turtle neck, and a black suede jacket. The outfit looked simple, but every woman was absolutely drooling over the ensemble and Bella was thinking… _Mine._

Becca walked straight up to the mike stand, looked to Edward to make sure he was ready, gave him the nod to start and assumed her starting position with her head down, one leg lazily crossed over the other and her arms folded behind her back.

Edward had moved the school's baby-grand piano onto the stage, but left it on stage right to give Becca free reign of the stage but was still close enough for her to see him.

As soon as the music started, Becca went into performance mode and was a completely different person on the stage. Becca's voice was so different and so much more mature than the previous singers, whose sad attempts at Mariah Carey left the audience cringing, that the audience couldn't help but stare in awe as she sang.

_I've got ssssssteam heat.  
I've got ssssssteam heat.  
I've got ssssssteam heat.  
But I need your love to keep away the cold.  
_

Becca's choreography was simple, tasteful, yet still jazzy and smooth. One thing Edward could say about her performance was that the girl knew how to work a gangster hat and a mike stand.

_I've got ssssssteam heat.  
I've got ssssssteam heat.  
I've got ssssssteam heat.  
But I can't get warm without your hand to hold.  
The radiators hissin still I need your kissin to keep me from freezing each night.  
I've got a hot water bottle, but nothing I've got'll take the place of you holdin me tight.  
I've got ssssssteam heat.  
I've got ssssssteam heat.  
I've got ssssssteam heat.  
But I need your love to keep away the cold.  
_

As Edward began his solo part Becca slinked over to the piano, began to interact with Edward as he played. It was not rehearsed but Becca was able to get Edward to let go and release his inner performer. Becca drug her mike stand over to the piano and sang the rest of the song around the piano and involving Edward in the song. _  
_

_They told me to throw some more coal in the boiler.  
They told me to throw some more coal in the boiler.  
They told me to throw some more coal in the boiler.  
But that don't do no good._

With a flirty wink at Edward , she jazz ran to the front of the stage and flirted with some of the guys in the audience. _  
_

_They told me to pour some more oil in the burner.  
They told me to pour some more oil in the burner.  
They told me to pour some more oil in the burner.  
But that don't do no good._

As the song slowed to an end, Becca slowly walked backward to the piano and leaned lightly on the curve. _  
I've got ssssssteam heat.  
I've got ssssssteam heat.  
I've got ssssssteam heat. I need you looove …to keep awayyyy …the colddd...._

Becca ended the song leaning on the piano with her hip popped to the side and her hat tipped low.

After the first act of the showcase, there was an intermission and the performers used this time to get ready for their second act. Becca's second piece was _Love, you didn't do right by me_ as done by Rosemary Clooney. She didn't feel the need alter the song at all, except to arrange the accompaniment to a piano part rather than a band. The song was also a jazzy piece but was a ballad rather than a fun song.

Alice and Becca both love the gown that Rosemary Clooney wore when she performed the song in the movie _White Christmas_ so Alice made Becca's outfit look exactly as it was in the movie.

She wore a floor-length black velvet gown that hugged her body until bout mid thigh where is faired away from her legs. The dress had one inch straps, and open back, and an extravagantly cut neckline. To break up all the black, a large white crystal pin was placed on the back of the dress just below the small of Becca's back. She also wore black gloves, with white crystal bracelets, and had earrings to match the pin on her back. Her hair and makeup was done to looked like a fifties singer. All in all, Becca looked very elegant and grown up.

Edward was also dressed to match the performers in the movie. He wore black slacks and a black turtleneck just like the male dancers in the movie.

For this song, Edward pushed the black baby grand out into the middle of the stage so Becca could stand in the curve of the piano and involve him in the performance. Becca hardly moved for the song but Edward knew that movement wasn't needed; the emotion was portrayed perfectly in Becca's voice and expressions as she sang.

_Love, you didn't __do right__ by me  
You planned a romance that just hadn't a chance  
And I'm through__do right__ by me  
I'm back on the shelf and I'm blaming myself  
But it's you__do right__ by me  
As they say in the song  
"You done me wrong!"_

Love, you didn't

My one love affair didn't get anywhere from the start  
To send me a Joe who had winter and snow in his heart  
Wasn't smart

Love, you didn't

_My one love affair didn't get anywhere from the start  
To send me a Joe who had winter and snow in his heart  
Wasn't smart  
Love, you didn't __do right__ by me  
Yes, Mr. Love…  
"You done me wrong!"_

Becca had given the performance of a lifetime, and Edward was thankful to be part of it.

After the show, Alice insisted on having a cast party. She invited all the performers of the night to the Cullen house in a party that strongly resembled the graduation party she threw in Forks.

However, Edward knew that Becca had been upset since she performed _Love, you didn't do right by me_. The song had reminded her of her sad love life. Sad meaning, nonexistent. She was eighteen years old and still had never been on a date much less had a boyfriend. Heck, she still hasn't had her first kiss. Becca saw all her friends in happy, stable relationships and longed to have that as well.

She was happy for them but that didn't help the loneliness that would overcome her whenever her friends went on date nights and she was left alone. She was willing to wait as long as she needed to in order to find the right guy; however, it still hurt. She always wondered what was wrong with her that made guys never want to date her. Becca's self esteem was so low at this point that she would be very easy for the wrong type of guy to manipulate.

Becca's self degrading thoughts seriously worried Edward. He knew that she would make some guy very happy someday, but he also knew why guys her age have not made a move yet…they were intimidated by her. Becca was cute, talented and had a great personality but did not put up with immature guys.

The boys her age wanted to date her but were scared to because she would not tolerate any of their crap. They knew that if anyone started anything with her, they had better be willing to put forth effort because she is not one for casual dating. Edward was nearly as protective of her as he was his daughter because she had grown so close to Renesme, so he was very concerned about her vulnerable heart.

Edward's focus on Becca's mind was broken by a mental shout-out from none other than Alice.

_Edward, we need to make arrangements at the school to take exams early. It's going to be very sunny that whole week. We'll need to keep an eye on Becca though…I can't see very well cause she is so involved with Nessie, but I think someone will be watching her very closely soon and I can't quite see what will happen yet. I'll watch though._

Edward nodded in to his sister as she scurried to find the rest of the family to tell them the plans. He looked back at Becca and made a new vow to himself: protect the girl who had become his daughter's best friend.

********************************************************************************

**a/n**

sorry it took so long for me to update…this is the longest chapter I have written yet! I hope you enjoyed it. Links to the songs and clothing are on my profile. Thank you to my lovely editors Kari of Mindelan and sandyk199…I love you gals!

Please review…reviews absolutley make my day! If you review I will send you a preview!

Thank you soooooo much for reading,

Jonsie


	6. Stalker

**Stalker**

The Cullens and Jacob visited Forks during the week and a half that Chicago was blessed with sunlight. They used the opportunity to check up on Charlie and the members of the wolf pack that were still in La Push. When the Cullens initially left Forks, some of the younger ones in the pack were able to quit phasing and live their lives as normal people.

However, some of the original members of the pack, plus Seth Clearwater, kept up the pack even though there was no longer a 'threat' living in Forks. While the family enjoyed the company of their old friends, Alice avoided the werewolves so that she could focus as hard as she could to decipher Becca's future.

At the beginning of the week, Alice was getting blurry flashes of someone stalking Becca as well as many possible outcomes. It was as if, someone was trying to make up their mind as to what course of action to take. Towards the end of the week, Becca's path led to two outcomes.

One outcome left no harm to Becca because the stalker decided to leave her alone. And Alice's second vision showed Becca…dead.

As soon as the weather permitted the Cullens to return to Chicago, everyone went back. Alice decided that Nessie and Jacob should avoid Becca once they got back.

Before she got into the BMW with Jacob, Emmett, and Rosalie, Nessie had to try to convince her aunt to allow her to see her friend.

"Alice, Becca's my best friend…" Nessie began the conversation but Alice didn't even give her a chance to finish.

"Nessie, the best way for you to help her is to not get involved. I know she's your friend and she is going to need you, just not yet. I need to be able to see clearly but if you and Jacob get involved, I won't be able to see her."

Alice was very careful to make sure that Nessie did not know the outcome of her latest vision. Nessie knew that there was some sort of danger, she just didn't know that it was life threatening.

"Renesmee, you need to trust Alice on this. We all love Becca and will do our best to keep her safe. Try not to worry too much, you'll see her next Friday," Bella was doing her best to comfort her daughter, but she knew that if Nessie was like her in anyway, she would worry until the danger had without a doubt passed.

Carlisle and Esme were the first to leave in the Mercedes. Followed by Rosalie's car, then Edward driving Alice, Jasper, and Bella in the Volvo.

********************************************************************************

When the Cullen's were about halfway back to Chicago, Alice snapped out of her vision with a gasp.

"Edward…" Alice looked over at her brother knowing he just saw what she did.

"Alice…that cannot be Becca McCoy."

"Then who else is it?"

The other vampires in the car hated it when they only heard half of the conversation. Jasper, feeling uneasy because of Alice's shock, needed to know what was going on, "Alice dear, can you _please_ enlighten the rest of us?"

Alice took an unnecessary breath as if she were resigning herself to the fate she just saw. "Jasper, can you get my sketchbook?"

After Jasper dug around in the back seat he found the sketchbook that Alice often used for her clothing designs. Alice drew the face of a familiar young girl, but there was something wrong with her. Her face was twisted in unnatural lust, her eyes looked glazed over and her pupils were dilated. She almost looked like someone who had been drugged but she also looked too aware to be drugged. The girl in the drawing was obviously Becca, but she looked wrong, like she wasn't herself.

After everyone looked at the drawing, Bella was the first to speak, "What is wrong with her?"

"That is what I'm trying to figure out. I can't see who is with her or what he is doing. But in the vision she looked like she was touching his face like he was her lover. Becca would never…whoever is with her, whoever has been following her, seems to plan on ….seducing… her tonight."

Before Alice finished her statement Edward had already begun punching the gas. He refused to let someone take advantage of his daughter's best friend.

_Edward, stop. Even if you got out and ran as fast as you could, you wouldn't make it in time to stop it. _

He knew Alice was right. There would be nothing he could do to stop the chain of events that led to Becca's seduction.

Bella couldn't believe that someone could successfully seduce Becca. Sure she was lonely and wanted a relationship, but she was always modest and did not tolerate boys coming on to her. Bella had seen Becca break a guy's cheekbone with her car keys because he hit on her inappropriately. Bella did not know Becca as well as Alice, and Renesmee, but she knew her well enough to know that Becca would not give herself away willingly to anyone but the man she was married to.

"Alice, it just doesn't make sense. Becca has never let herself be swayed before…she never even let a guy look at her wrong without at least punching him, if not worse."

"I know which is why I'm thinking there is more to it than a guy just wanting an escapade. It would take an awful lot of effort on his part to even get her comfortable around him. He doesn't seem to want to hurt her now, but after he leaves, whatever he does to her will kill her eventually."

Edward was barley paying attention as his wife and siblings were discussing how Becca got into this situation, he was focusing more on what to do when they got back to Chicago.

Even though Renesme and Jacob would be uninvolved, Alice's vision of Becca and the stalker was incomplete, so they were going into this disaster blind. Edward decided the best course of action would be to follow Becca, if they followed her, they would probably run into the stalker.

Alice picked up Edward's decision quickly since it changed the future fairly drastically.

_Edward, that should work. We'll have to be careful not to scare her though. She will be very torn up and having everyone crowd her will not help. I still can't see who the stalker is though. It's like the vision is of his point of view. I am seeing what he sees. _

_************************************************************************************_

On Monday, the Cullens seemed to return to their everyday lives. Carlisle returned to the hospital, Jacob went back to the shop, Rosalie, Emmett, and Jasper went back to the college nearby, and Edward, Alice and Bella went back to school. However, Nessie pretended to be "sick" and stayed home from school with Esme, so that she could stay out of Becca's future.

Everyone had agreed with Edward's idea of following Becca to catch her stalker and decided that during school either Alice or Bella would constantly be with her and Edward would follow her from a distance through her after school activities and they would alternate who stayed at her house.

While not everyone was actively following Becca, they were all on alert ready to jump in and protect their latest human friend at less than a moment's notice.

Nessie was the only one that had a class with Becca, but Bella had some classes in the same hall and was actually able to be physically near Becca, while Edward could only keep track of her thoughts and Alice through watching the future.

Most of the time, during the last week of school the teachers don't require the seniors to come in since they are most likely just going to be watching movies or something. And most seniors used those days for group trips; however, Becca had forced herself to go to school.

The first thing Bella noticed different about Becca was her appearance. Becca was deathly pale, had dark purple circles under her eyes, she was wearing her pajama pants (something unheard of for Becca) and her hair was pulled back in an unkempt low ponytail instead of her trademark high bouncy ponytail.

If Bella hadn't known any better, she would have thought that Becca was a nomadic vampire.

Once lunch hour came around, Bella was finally able to watch Becca for a consistent length of time. Becca was not her normal bubbly self, she was not involved with whatever conversation was going on and seemed lost in her own thoughts. She would occasionally shake her head as if to dispel any unpleasant thoughts and refocused her attention on something. The look on her face told Bella that she was disgusted with something and was struggling to not think about it.

Bella was glad that she had Edward with her during lunch to tell her what Becca was thinking. Edward was obvious extremely frustrated.

"Most of the time she's trying to completely focus on something time consuming and unimportant. It's like when Alice is trying to block me. But occasionally something will remind her of _him_ and she'll fall into a pattern of scolding herself or she'll try to shake it off and focus on whatever is going on in the class. I learned way more than I ever wanted to know about that _Bugs Life _movie."

"I guess that's all there was for her to focus on," Bella said rolling her eyes, "Have you caught a glimpse of what the guy looks like?"

"Not really…she's so angry with herself that she stops berating herself to think about him."

Alice trotted over to Bella like she had just made a vital discovery, "Bella, you should go over there and have some 'girl talk' with her."

"What?! 'Girl Talk' is your arena, Alice. She doesn't know me well enough trust me with her _personal_ life."

Bella was never one for girlie sleepovers and gossip that was more Alice's gig. Even Edward knew that much. "Alice, you know she would be much more willing to tell you what happened"

Alice's eyes became unfocused with a vision as she spoke, "No. Bella needs to go."

Bella looked at her favorite sister in confusion then nodded and walked towards Becca.

Before Bella got to her, someone had bumped into Becca from behind spilling their 'food' all over her. Whatever seemingly edible thing that was covering Becca's clothes smelled so strong and disgusting to Bella's vampire nose that it completely covered the human sent.

Normally, Becca would have brushed off the entire incident with laughter and a grin, but today she began to quiver and her eyes began to tear up.

The boy who spilled his lunch on her freaked out, "Oh my god, I'm so sorry. I should have been paying attention. I'm such an idiot…" He kept up his rant of apologies till Bella shut him up with a look that said 'just shut up and go'.

Becca had broken into a full out sob and began apologizing for her behavior, "I'm sorry you have to see this. Why am I crying? This is so stupid. I can't believe I'm crying!" But her rant only made her cry harder.

Seeing Becca in this state made Bella immediately switch from teenager-mode into mommy-mode. Crinkling her nose up at the smell of the cafeteria food (chili perhaps?) she walked over to Becca and helped her up off the ground much like she did all those years ago with Renesme when she was little.

"Come on sweetie. Let's get this gunk off of you. Honestly, I don't get how the cafeteria ladies can call this food." Bella led Becca to the restroom and began to help her clean up.

"Thanks for helping me…I don't know why that upset me so much."

"Becca, you've seemed upset all day. Maybe that just sent you into emotional overload. Where's Jasper the psychology freak when we need him, right?" Becca finally let out a small chuckle, but then looked up at Bella was tortured eyes.

"A lot happened while you guys were gone. I don't know if you would want to hear it or if you would think I'm a horrible person."

"I would never think of you that way! Please, tell me what happened."

Becca drew a shaky breath and began, "The Saturday after you guys left I met a guy at the theater where I work. He came for one of the late showings and stayed to talk to me. We talked till the end of my shift and he insisted on walking me to my car saying he didn't like the idea of me walking alone through that huge parking lot at night. He asked me out and I agreed."

Bella knew where this was going but continued to listen like she had no clue.

"We went out throughout the week and he seemed genuinely interested in me. He was always around even when I didn't tell him where I would be. I didn't know whether to be flattered or creeped out. He treated me well though. But I still felt like there was something behind that smile and his black eyes. He was defiantly gorgeous…he hardly seemed real he was so beautiful. There had to be another reason for him liking me, our relationship was almost too fairy tale."

Becca's body began to quiver as she recalled the previous night's events.

"But last night, something was different. It was like my mind was in a haze...I…I couldn't think clearly. I had never looked at a man that way. I never…lusted like that before. It was like my body yearned for him more than my mind could control. I needed him physically so much that it was unbearable. I couldn't stop myself…"

Becca began to sob, so Bella decided it was time to step in.

"You slept with him didn't you?"

"I can't imagine what you think of me! I had ranted on so many occasions over waiting till marriage! Yet here I am…sexing it up with the first guy who paid attention to me! And that's all it was. Just sex. I wanted my first time to be making _love _with my husband."

"I'm guessing you don't love this guy."

"That's just it…I don't know if I love him. When I'm with him…no other physical need is greater. All my senses are clouded…I can't even think straight! Is that caused by love?"

Bella gently grabbed Becca's shoulders and said "No, it can be…but not in this case. We'll talk about it some more later. But first…let's get you some clean clothes. Whatever this gunk is …it's reaaaaaly starting to stink."

Bella was getting uncomfortable with her sense of smell being rendered useless by the overpowering odor of the school's sad excuse for chili.

As if on cue, like always, Alice came into the restroom with a clean dress for Becca, who took it gladly into a stall to change.

A few seconds later Becca tossed her filthy clothes over the stall to Alice, who discarded them quickly, and then stumbled out with the zipper halfway done up in the back.

"Bella can you zip me up in the back? I'm usually more flexible than this but I'm really sore."

As Bella walked over to assist Becca, her sent struck the vampire's nose unpolluted for the first time that day. There was the normal human sent, but there was also another sent mixed in. When she went to zip the dress, Bella saw a very familiar pattern of bruises decorating Becca's torso. With a closer look, Bella could see more bruises on her arms and shoulder, which had previously been covered by her jacket.

In that moment Bella realized three things.

One, Becca's life was still in danger, but not in the way she originally thought.

Secondly, saving Becca would be far more difficult and require more drastic measures.

Lastly, Becca's stalker was without a doubt…a vampire.

**********************************************************************************************************************************

A/N

I know...I know...i took absolutly forever on this chaper. Between this being a difficult chapter and getting ready for school, updating took a whole lot longer.

I must warn you, i'm moving in to my dorm next week so it may be a while until i get the next chappy posted.

However, if i get enough reviews (hint hint hint) i will post before i have to leave and even throw in a preview! But if i dont get at least 3 reviews for this chapter i won't post until i'm settled at school which could be a little while.

Anyway...i hope you enjoyed this chappy and thank you very much for reading!

Jonsie

**Disclaimer: **

man i've been really bad about posting a disclaimer so yeah...i don't own any of the twilight characters...if i did i would no longer be a poor college student but a rich one! muahahaha...seriously though...no copyright issues intended so please don't sue me...poor college student remember? :)


	7. New Plans

_**Previously on Forgotten Family…**_

_In that moment Bella realized three things. _

_One, Becca's life was still in danger, but not in the way she originally thought._

_Secondly, saving Becca would be far more difficult and require more drastic measures._

_Lastly, Becca's stalker was without a doubt…a vampire. _

*************************************************************************************

**New Plans**

Bella looked up from Becca's ghastly bruises to Alice's knowing gaze. Her sister-in-law knew exactly what Becca's stalker _was_ as soon as she did. The scent on Becca's skin and the marks on her body were far too recognizable to be anything else. Alice nodded and left to meet Edward, who having heard Alice's thoughts moved to the entrance of the restroom, leaving Bella to tend to Becca.

Bella knew there would be a family meeting as soon as she got home, but right now she had to take care of the emotionally scarred girl.

She comfortingly wrapped her arms around Becca, a skill she acquired since becoming a mother, "Come on, let's get you home."

Becca look up at Bella, her grey eyes filled with fear, "No! I can't go home. Not now. I can't look at my parent parents right now. They would be…so disappointed in me."

"Becca…they're your parents they could never…"

"No Bella. Just look at me…look at what I've done. I'm ashamed of myself so imagine what they might think."

"I think they'd be more concerned with where those bruises covering you body came from."

"I bruise easily."

_I said the same thing myself 14 years ago. "_Uh huh, and I eat mountain lions for breakfast. Was he rough with you?"

"I wouldn't know if he was. It's like I said before…everything was in a haze. My mind knew what was going on but my body couldn't register anything else but…I guess pleasure is the only word to describe it. I can't tell you if he was rough, tender, or loving. I can't describe it! You wouldn't understand."

"Trust me, I understand probably more than you want to know."

The confused and shocked look in Becca's eyes told Bella that she had said too much.

"Wha….?"

"Becca…please don't ask right now. I'll explain later. Right now let's get you home."

Alice came back into the restroom with the patented 'alice-is-up-to-something' grin plastered on her face.

"Come on! We gotta get back to your house and get packing!"

Bella cocked an eyebrow, "Packing for what?"

"We need to get Becca ready her school in California. She got into the music theater program and got hired for a summer internship at the theater down the road from her school so she needs to leave the week after graduation. Soooo packing must start NOW"

Becca really didn't plan on packing until after graduation, but she knew Alice was just providing and activity to take her mind off the situation at hand.

"I could use the help."

After rummaging through the closet, dividing her clothes into piles and earning the occasional 'tsk' from Alice, Becca's mind was completely off the previous nights events and was focusing on an inevitable shopping trip with Alice.

"Thanks Alice, I really needed this."

"Glad to help. Now, tomorrow we head to the city and get you proper west coast wardrobe." As she spoke Alice was glancing at Becca's phone on the desk expectantly. A second later the phone began to vibrate and play an upbeat tune.

Becca picked up the phone and her eyes widened when she saw who was calling, "Oh god…it's him"

Becca's hand was shaking as she place the phone to her ear and answered "Hi"

"Hey baby, I'm sorry I couldn't call you earlier. The boss started cracking down on cell phones in the office."

"Oh no it's o.k."

"No it's not. After last night…I should have called you fist thing."

"Don't worry about it. I'm alright, I just never thought I'd…make love until I was married."

"Me neither doll. I don't know what came over me. I couldn't get you out of my head. You don't regret it do you?"

"I…I"

"Listen to me, I may not have planned on making love to you but I swear to you I do not regret it."

"Joe, I can't answer you right now. I can't say I do or don't regret it. I'm upset with myself cause I swore to myself that I would wait."

"Are mad at me? I promise I didn't plan on this. It just happened, I never ment to make you feel violated."

"No, no. I don't feel violated in any way. I'm not angry at you. How can I be? You didn't do anything wrong. I'm the one that didn't say no."

"Yes, but I didn't even try to stop. Listen, I can't stay away from you. Please, when can I see you again?"

"Joe…I don't know. I'm leaving for California soon. It might be best if…"

"Don't say it. I'm coming with you."

"No you're not uprooting your life for me."

"I move around anyway. I can go with you."

"Joe…"

"I'm coming over and we can talk."

"No you don…" Becca looked at her phone defeated. She turned to Alice about to speak but Alice was way ahead of the human.

"You don't need to say anything. I'll get out of here and you can talk to your man."

"Did you hear what he said?"

"Every word. Don't let him pressure you into anything. And if you don't want to sleep with him again I suggest you keep the conversation short and don't look directly into his eyes. I swear men are taught at a young age on how to turn a woman into jell-o with just eye contact."

"Thanks Alice, for everything. And can you tell Bella I said thank you as well?"

"Sure thing." With a hug, Alice pranced out the door and too her car. Alice hid her car around the corner next to Edward's Volvo then ran back to Becca's house to meet Edward who had been hiding outside the window the whole time.

_Get all that?_

"Of course I did. I'm staying here. I need to get a look at his mind. But if any of us are near her, he will smell us and I don't know how he would react."

_Oh ye of little faith. Let me check. _The vision showed a vampire running up to Becca's house but he instantly smelled other vampires. He panics, takes her, jumps through her window and flees. _If we're here he'll get possessive and take her. _

"He probably thinks we're hunting and doesn't want anyone else to have her."

_Then we need to hide our sent. _

"Maybe if I bring Jacob he will mask my sent."

_Great you just blacked out everything. Oh well, I guess that will work. If you stay here with Jacob you can at least get a look at his mind and see what he's up too. Whatever happens do __**not **__let him take advantage her again. If it gets close interrupt is some way I don't care how. _

"Alice, she's my daughter's best friend, of course I'll protect her."

_O.k. Stay here and I'll get Jacob. _

About five minutes after Alice left Jacob showed up in her place greeting Edward with a grunt and was welcomed with a nod. Jacob and Edward's relationship could only be described as a sometimes forced and strained friendship. Sure they could get along if they had too, but there were defiantly times where Edward _really_ didn't appreciate the whole imprinting thing. But today they had the same goal, to keep the human safe, so they could tolerate each other's presence.

A few seconds later Edward lifted his head and began to scan the street, "I hear him coming. He just hunted and is complaining about the contacts."

"You bloodsuckers worry about the stupidest things," Jacob snorted, "Honestly, if he hypnotizes her would she really notice his eyes?"

Jacob immediately regretted his statement as Edward released a quiet and fearsome growl, "He's never worried about it with the others, but now he is being extra careful. He knows the Volturi are aware of his 'experiments' and are thinking to stop him. He just can't give up his work towards his 'master race' not when there is a 'prime human specimen' within his grasp."

Jacob's dark eyes widened with realization, "You mean this is the guy who's been creating all the hybrids?!"

"Yes, his real name is Joham but he's been telling his 'American girls' his name is Joe because 'joham' is so uncommon. Becca was apparently one of the most difficult to mate with because she didn't want to give in easily. He had to use his gift on her."

"Which is?"

"It is similar to Jasper's. He can't create the feeling of love, but if he holds eye contact with a girl he can manipulate her hormones to the point where she so aroused that she can't help but give herself to him. It's similar to the effect of the date-rape drug."

"So basically he drugged her with his eyes?"

"Something like that. But he's coming up the street now. We need to hide so he won't see us and panic."

A second later a tall vampire of Brazilian origins rounded the corner wearing typical street clothes. He had obviously taken great care to make his appearance as unremarkable as possible. Between the grey hoodie, faded jeans, and nike shoes he looked like any typical city guy. That is until one looked at his eyes, even with contacts his eye color looked strange. He carried himself with confidence yet to a stranger on the street he seemed trustworthy. But through Edward's experienced eyes, he saw a man who had all the time in the world to construct the perfect façade, to seduce a carefully selected subject.

Joham strode confidently to the door and rang the bell. As the bell echoed throughout the house Edward could hear Becca's panicked thoughts.

_Oh God he's here. _Becca scrambled through the room looking for some sort of jacket. The dress Alice had put her in was modest but Becca still wanted to be covered as much as possible. Why, she wasn't exactly sure but she just didn't want to feel exposed in any sense.

As soon as she found a grey zip up hoodie she stumbled down the stairs to meet the waiting vampire. However, she didn't know that in putting on the jacket she masked the Alice's scent that had been left on her body. A scent that would have immediately let Joham know exactly who Becca was friends with.

When she opened the door she kept her eyes to the ground not wanting to reveal her insecurity.

"Hello Joe."

"Evening Becca. Hey, we match."

Becca looked up, again not meeting his eyes, and realized that they were both wearing grey hoodies with black tennis shoes.

"Oh, right I guess we do." Becca said barely cracking a smile.

Edward fought hard to suppress a growl. He had said the same thing to the love of his life many years ago. And he hated how such a sadistic creature used a phrase, which he had once said so lovingly, to manipulate such a sweet and trusting human girl. Edward made sure to pay extra careful attention to the Becca and Joham's thoughts.

_Stay calm, he's just here to talk…nothing more. _"Come on in. Just make yourself at home."

Becca led Joham to the couch where she immediately sat on the very end, not trusting her own impulses to sit near him. However, Joham wouldn't allow her to sit far from her so he sat in the middle trapping her between his stone body and the end of the couch.

_It's amazing how differently human girls respond. Some are ready to go again, while others need a little coaxing….but this one is the most awkward I have ever worked with. If she wasn't so perfect…ugh she's not even taken yet! How many times will she take? Oh well, patience is a virtue…she'll produce a magnificent offspring though. Yes, the child will be perfect. _"Babe I don't like it when you're far away from me, come here," Joham put his arms around Becca and pulled her close, she was so nervous that she didn't even notice how cold he was, "What are you nervous about? It's just me."

_Ugh, how can I explain this without hurting him? _Edward scoffed at that one, Becca was a lot like his wife, always worried about the welfare of others, yet she was never able to see when someone was being deceptive.

"Look Joe, it not that being with you makes me nervous, it's just that last night…I was not myself. I don't know what happened but I never behave like that and it scares me. And I don't want you to think that is my normal behavior, cause it's not."

"Don't worry, babe, I'm defiantly not one to judge. But I cannot deny that I feel drawn to you. Where you go I will follow." _I can't let this one go. She's such a fine human specimen. What is it with these Chicago girls? She's not as lovely as the last one but she's strong. Maybe she'll even produce a gifted child, like the last one. Damn it why must she make my job harder? Oh well, time to pour on the guilt. _"But, wouldn't you want to be with me? I thought you loved me."

_Do I? Was that feeling last night really love? How could it be anything else? But yet…I don't KNOW!_ "Uh…I…I don't know."

_Alright gotta do this the hard way don't we little human. _"Babe, look me in the eye and tell me you don't love me."

Before Becca could lift her head, Edward and Jacob were at the door banging on it, as much as they could without breaking the door.

_What? I didn't even hear anyone approach it has to be another one of my kind but…what the hell is that smell?!_

_What in the world? Who would come here? _When Becca answered the door her face changed from puzzled to shocked as she came toe to toe with Edward and Jacob's towering frames, "Wow…what are you guys doing here?"

Jacob looked at Edward hoping he could come up with a good excuse,_ Dude I'm blank excuses are your specialty_.

"Alice told us to pick her up," Edward said as smooth as ever, " but it looks like that trixie pixie gave us the slip."

"Yeah she was just here 15 minutes ago. She and Bella drove themselves here, why would they need a ride from you guys?"

"I was asking myself the same thing, but who am I to question Alice?"

"Who indeed. Listen Edward this really isn't a…"

"Babe, who's here?" _What is that smell? It's like someone killed a wet dog. _

"Oh sorry Joe, this is Edward Cullen, he's Nessie's twin brother and this is Jacob Black, Nessie's boyfriend."

"Nice too meet you gentlemen, but, Babe, who's Nessie?"

_Oh my god! How could I have not told him about Nessie? What is wrong with me? _"I can't believe I haven't told you about Nessie! She's my best friend and her family...they're such great friends to me. Edward here played for me at the school showcase."

"If Nessie is your best friend how come I haven't met her?" _She has attachments…this changes things._

"Well, she and her family were on vacation when I met you, they just got back today. But Nessie got a little sick so she wasn't at school today."

Edward could see that Joham was forming a new plan; he knew that he had to keep Becca close to the family if they were going to protect her. "Becca, Nessie said she would like to see you. Would you mind coming home with us? I know it would mean the world to her."

"Are you sure she's not too sick for visitors?"

"We already have nine other people in the house; one more isn't going to hurt her."

"Well if you're sure. I would absolutely love to see Nessie, I miss her so much. Maybe Joe could come, he needs to meet my other half."

"No need Babe, you need to go see your friend, I'm sure I'll meet her eventually." _I need to check this out. If she's close to more than a few people I'll have to change my plans. _

Even though he couldn't read minds, Jacob could easily see the wheels in Joham's mind turning. _Edward…he's thinkin what I think he's thinkin isn't he? _

Edward gave a slight nod to Jacob before speaking, "Alright that settles things, are you able to go now?"

"Uh yeah, let me put this jacket away, Alice and Rosalie would give me the lecture of the century if they catch me with non-matching clothes. Excuse me." As Becca shook off her jacket the breeze cause by the closet door pushed her newly unmasked scent towards Joham.

When Becca's pure human scent peppered with Alice's scent hit Joham's nose for the first time, his body tensed into a hyper-alert state, assessing his surroundings for the vampire he missed. No one would interfere with his work.

************************************************************************************************************************************

A/N

Thank you for reading! If you have any questions, comments, or what-nots just review or PM. I hope you enjoyed it :)


	8. Actions and Reactions

**Action and Reaction**

As Joham sank into an aggressive hunting stance, Edward and Jacob quickly countered with their own defensive postures, snarling and hissing at the enemy. Becca stared utterly confused between the man she thought was her first love and the men she had grown to trust as family over the past four years.

"Guys what's going on? You're acting like…animals! What's going…"

"Rebecca," Edward's voice stopped what Becca was saying immediately, no one used her full name unless they meant business, "I need you to leave with Jacob now."

Before Becca could even think about moving, Joham pulled her by the arm into his chest where he held her in a desperate vice grip.

" I claimed her first!"

Edward and Jacob kept their distance and Jacob kept his mouth shut to let Edward do the talking.

"Joham, you will let her go now. You are outnumbered."

"Only two of you!"

"Nine actually. You have no hope of pulling enough of our kind together against us. Besides, do you really think Rebecca would submit now that you have thoroughly frightened her?"

Joham couldn't react; Edward had addressed every one of his thoughts and strategies. He threw Becca towards Edward and Jacob, not caring that she would be extremely bruised in the process, and bolted out the door as soon as she left his arms. Edward caught Becca and Jacob prepared to change to pursue him.

Edward balanced Becca in one arm and stopped Jacob in his tracks, "He's running along the roads and the humans will see you. Take Becca to the house," He said while tossing her gently and hastily at Jacob and took off after Joham. Jacob ran into the back-yard, which backed up to the woods, swung Becca onto his back piggy-back style and in nearly the same move morphed into wolf form without dropping her from his back.

The vampires were moving fast enough that the human eye would not be able to register more that a blur on the side of the road. By the time Edward intersected Joham they were already close to Indiana.

_O inferno ne! _Joham immediately tried to shake Edward off his trail by moving from his straight course by the highway to winding through the woods, but the change of terrain didn't do anything to slow down his pursuer. _How is he keeping up?_ As the chase went on, Joham became more flustered and started to push down or throw anything he touched behind him, hoping to slow Edward down. _Why isn't this working? _Panicking, Joham bolted back towards the freeway. Once they were nearly to the road, Edward heard two familiar voices come into his hearing range.

_Alice saw where you would be, we'll get ahead and corner him._

_Dude, he makes it too easy to catch up._

Joham may have been running as fast as he could, but his attempts at deterring Edward didn't allow him to gain much distance, making it too easy for Jasper and Emmett to intersect his path. Soon Joham was being pursued closely by three vampires with a young girl's honor to defend. When he reached the freeway, he rammed into a car carrying a middle aged couple killing them instantly and causing an eight-car pile-up.

After he reached the other side of the road, Joham kept running knowing that if he delayed at all he would become distracted by the blood and probably be caught. Edward, Jasper and Emmett were forced to reverse their direction immediately and return home. No matter how many years of resistance the three of them had behind them, the blood of eleven individuals flowing at once was too much for them to bear.

The state of the road was horrific. Some cars were piled on top of each other, while others were embedded into trees and the four foot deep trench that ran parallel to the road. The road was littered with torn metal, glass, and pieces of tires. Also scattered on the road was the victims' belonging that had been thrown out of the vehicles; things such as maps, cups of coffee, a GPS, numerous cell phones, sunglasses, and a little girl's Raggedy Anne doll.

The victims themselves were tangled and ensnared among the debris. Their bodies were twisted and torn just like the vehicles that were designed to protect them and for those still alive, their thoughts wandered…How would I get out? Will I? How can I help? Where's my cell phone? Will my daughter hate me for missing her birthday? Whose fault it this? Why isn't anyone helping her? Is he dead? Am I dying? What'll happen to my kids? Will my parent's be ok? Who'll take care my dog? I'll never be able to tell her the truth will I? Would anyone miss me?

Images of loved ones and unsettled arguments began to speed through the victims minds. Many were nowhere near dying but certainly felt that way. Edward witnessed every single one of these images and one particular image was shared in a couple's mind: the image of their two daughters. Edward barely had enough time to recognize the face of the youngest before their minds forever became silent.

Miles away, Jacob ran in wolf form onto the Cullen property with Becca on his back. Nessie was the first out the door and carefully took Becca off of Jacob so that he could change with privacy. Becca sat petrified in Nessie's arms, then she began shaking violently and crying. When Nessie carried her into the house, Becca was so hysterical Carlisle was forced to sedate her.

As she slept on the living room couch, Jacob gave everyone an abridged version of what happened at Becca's house, "He was calm until Becca took off her jacket and he smelled Alice on her. He took her in a headlock, but Edward talked him down so he let her go and took off."

"That would explain why she couldn't turn her head much, she's going to be very sore when she wakes up." said Carlisle in doctor-mode.

"More than that," Bella cut in, "She also has an awful lot of bruising on her arms, shoulders, and torso. And that's just what I was able to see."

Carlisle gently examined Becca's neck, noting the bruising that was forming there, "I'll need to examine her to see how bad the damage is, but I'll wait until she wakes up. I want to wait until she is alert so she won't feel as if we violated her trust by examining her without her permission."

About fifteen minutes after Becca fell asleep, Edward, Jasper and Emmett returned from the chase. As soon as he walked through the door, Edward was bombarded by a steady stream of mental questions mostly variants of 'What happened' or 'Did you get him'.

"We caught up to him along Route 57 but he caused an eight car wreck and there was too much blood for us to cross after him," Edward recounted to his family,"He knew he couldn't outrun us much longer, if he hadn't been running for his life that amount of blood would have distracted him as well."

Everyone was furious that Joham had been able to escape, but Emmett was fuming cause he jipped out of getting to kill something, "That bastard, he's just a coward!"

"He's smart," Jasper interrupted, "once we intercepted his path he knew he was caught. I didn't feel any fear though, just determination."

" He's just like James was. He knows that it's smarter to stop pursuing Rebecca, but he won't give up once he sets his mind on a target. All his previous subjects only had human protectors, and he was always careful to ensure that they wouldn't be missed, at least for a while. He thought he had that with Rebecca, she was leaving for California in a few weeks, and she didn't appear to have many friends because we were in Washington. Now, we've given him a challenge that he's never encountered before. Twenty years ago he would have just moved on to another girl, but now that the Volturi is watching him he's limiting himself to one girl and plans to stay with her until she conceives. "

Everyone knew what it meant for Becca if Joham was successful, and all determined to ensure that wouldn't happen. They all felt a strong sense of duty towards her, not just because she's Nessie's best friend, but also because she did absolutely nothing to deserve what Joham had in store for her. Still, no one felt more responsible for Becca than Nessie. Although Becca had dreams of becoming a performer, Nessie knew better than anyone that Becca would willingly and lovingly give her life for a child and Joham taking advantage of that fact made Nessie absolutely sick. On top of that, Nessie felt responsible for Becca because she felt that in befriending her she exposed her to her family's world, thus exposing her to Joham.

Edward understood Nessie's train of thought all too well and couldn't allow it to continue, "Renesmee, I know it is easy to blame yourself and what you are for all this mess. It's true that if vampires did not exist then Rebecca would not be in this kind of danger. But, Joham more than likely would have chosen her regardless if we were here or not."

" Joham could have easily chosen a girl that we had no connection to and she would have been met with a horrible fate," Carlisle added, " However, since he chose Rebecca, we are in a position to do something about his actions and put a stop to his experimenting with human life."

Nessie looked at her friend sleeping soundly on the white couch, Becca's feet were propped up on Nessie lap, as ordered by Carlisle because of the mild shock she had experienced earlier. Nessie knew that as soon as she woke up they would have to explain to her about vampires and Becca's world would change forever, "I know it's not technically my fault, but I still feel responsible. I mean…the desire to create a creature like _me_, is putting her life in danger."

"It's not just _her _life at stake," Rosalie stated firmly, "you know what would happen if Joham is caught by the Volturi and Aro discovers that we were associating with another human."

"What do you suggest we do then? Cause I'm not gonna let anything happen to her."

"Make sure he doesn't get caught," Emmett said in a deadly tone.

Edward let out an exasperated breath, his brother always looked for excuses to kill something, "While that is an intriguing idea, I don't think we should kill him right away. We still have his other children to worry about. Nahuel had said there were three daughters that were raised by him and would fight alongside him. They wouldn't cause much of a problem but we don't know if he has made other children recently or if he actually has allies."

_Daddy, I don't care what we do…I just want Becca to be safe. _

"I know, we all do."

_I know you guys aren't new to the protection detail thing, but I don't want everyone to go through that again._

"We may not have to."

Though everyone had initially tuned out of the silent father-daughter conversation, everyone paid attention after Edward's last statement.

"We may not have to what?" asked Jacob.

Edward turned to the werewolf but was addressing the whole family, "Nessie was worried about us taking on another 'protection detail'. But, I don't think we will be needing to do what we did with Bella. We can simply keep her with us and leave Chicago rather than taking shifts at her home."

_Daddy, we can't just take her. I know she's supposed to be leaving for California soon, but her parents will be expecting to spend time with her before she goes. Other than us, they're all she has._

_Edward, if we leave with her I doubt Joham would leave her parents alive. _

"You're right Jasper, Joham would not leave her parents alive if we took her. But, they are already dead."

Edward's extra hearing was bombarded with 'what's and 'how's and his natural hearing picked up the breaking of Esme's coffee table, Emmett's plasma tv, and Renesmee's wail. "They can't be! They were supposed to be in Indiana until Sunday!"

"We were close to Indiana when the wreck happened. The couple in the first car died instantly, but in the second car involved I saw the same image shared in their minds as they died, Rebecca's face. I'm certain those were her parents. She'll probably be getting a call sometime tonight."

Nearly everyone's minds were still in a fury, whether focusing on their anger at the situation forced upon them or grieving for the human who had just lost the most important people in her life, their minds were all active and chaotic. Alice's mind, however, was for once not jumping around from subject to subject but focusing on one issue, _I can't see. _

Edward immediately made eye contact with Alice, letting her know that he heard.

_I saw the chase clearly, but I didn't see the wreck at all, nor do I see her parents funeral or anything after tonight for that matter. Everything is either so fuzzy I can't make it out or completely blank. _

Jasper soon felt his wife's confused mood and immediately stepped in, "Alice what is it? Have you seen anything?"

"That's just it, Jazz. I haven't seen anything of Joham past the wreck and I can't see anything clearly past tonight."

"It's probably because he chose to involve the other hybrids after he escaped, and they are blocking your vision," Edward speculated.

"Why would that change much," asked Nessie, "I know hybrids and werewolves mess with Alice's visions, but she's gotten to where she can somewhat see around us."

"That's only because I'm so used to you and Jacob," explained Alice, "This is at least three unfamiliar hybrids. Maybe if I concentrate I can see around them. Jazz, I need your help."

Alice and Jasper moved to their bedroom in the upstairs corner of the house, being the furthest from the living room, it allowed Alice to have some distance from Nessie and Jacob, and with Jasper keeping her calm and focused, she slowly began to decipher parts of the future. To allow Alice to completely focus, Edward began to relay what information he could as she uncovered it.

The first bit of information that came to her was when the police department would call Becca's cell phone. They would call at 10:13 pm and Carlisle, as the known responsible adult, would have to answer.

The next vision she deciphered was Becca waking up the next day close to noon. Considering Carlisle had sedated her around 7:30 , she would sleep an obscene amount of time.

The last vision Alice was able to see clearly was Becca's parents' funeral. It was cloudy but not raining, she wore a black summer sweater and was sandwiched between Carlisle, Esme, and Renesme. Alice did not see many people who looked like they could be Becca's family, and Alice's own family, other than those with Becca, were nowhere in sight. As the workers began to lower the coffins in the ground the vision become tainted and eventually illegible.

As Edward followed Alice's visions the lack of family at the funeral troubled him, "Renesme, you told me once that Rebecca was very close with her parents. What about the rest of her family?"

_Becca's parents were really the only normal ones in her family. Her mom's brothers are losers and her dad was an only child. Her grandparents are long dead and her sister is stationed in Japan with her husband, but the rest of her family is basically useless. That's why she and her parents were so tight, they couldn't rely on anyone else in the family. It wouldn't surprise me if there are more of us than her family at the funeral. _

"Alice only saw you, Carlisle and Esme at the funeral. She couldn't see the rest of us."

_You guys must be with Jacob._

"Yes, but why?"

Jasper came down the stairs, with Alice trailing behind still concentrating on the future, and joined the speculation; _He's not going to give up on her. If he thinks she's lightly guarded he'll try to take her again. The funeral will seem like the perfect time to him. If he sees or smells all of us we'll lose our chance. It would be logical if only two of us are with her and the rest are hiding with Jacob. He knows Jacob's sent but he will not know our numbers. _

"Alice can't see past the burial, he must be planning on bringing his hybrids. Maybe we…"

"Edward," Bella interrupted her husband, "would you please inform the rest of us as to what sort of plan you and Jasper are concocting?"

Edward snorted at his wife's tone, even in her second life she was still incredibly impatient, "I do apologize, my love. We know he's going to come for Rebecca again and the funeral would be a good opportunity for him. It will also work for us to intercept him, but if he sees or smells all of us he will not bother to come. Carlisle, Esme and Renesmee are going to be with Rebecca and the rest of us are going to wait for him but we will need to use Jacob to hide our sent."

"Guess that's our plan then. Renesmee, you need to go to bed soon, it's going to be rough next few days."

"Momma I really want to stay up and make sure Becca's alright."

"Alright, but remember, I'm not above stealing some of Carlisle drugs and knocking you out myself."

Nessie smiled for the first time in a while and returned to watching over her best friend in a drug-induced sleep.

Sure enough, at 10:13 the police called Becca's phone with the news. And around 10:30 Becca began to stir restlessly in her sleep. Nessie knew from various sleepovers that Becca was a heavy sleeper and rarely moved. _Daddy is something wrong? _

"Nothing is wrong, the drugs have worn out so she's sleeping naturally now."

_She normally sleeps like the dead, is she having a nightmare?_

"Yes, the human mind rarely surprises me. But at times like this it amazes me how the subconscious knows when there is danger near or something terrible has happened."

Nessie looked down at her friend, even with a physic for an aunt she still didn't know what the future held for Becca. The only thing she could make a difference in was the present, so Nessie decided to chase away the nightmares. Nessie pushed the blanket aside slightly to expose the skin on Becca's foot and gently laid her palm on Becca's ankle. She allowed happy memories of the last four years to flow into Becca's unconscious mind and keep the nightmares at bay.

Outside of Edward's hearing range, Joham was making a call to his only allies. Joham didn't know if Edward was being truthful with how many vampires were living together but he would not take any chances. He would not be able to round up as many reinforcements as he wished but he knew that having his four hybrid children would help immensely. It was a shame that his only son wanted nothing to do with him, as Nahuel would be a valuable asset to his coven, but his three daughters would suffice. The oldest of the three half-sisters was over 200 years old and was pure Brazilian. The second sister was around 160 years old and was half Mexican and half Brazilian.

All the sisters favored their various mothers in their faces and eyes, but shared a few of Joham's South American features such as their skin tone and hair color. The youngest was 118, and stood out the most among the sisters because her mother was Irish- American. Her skin wasn't nearly as pale as her Irish descend mother but she didn't have as much of the South American glow that her sisters had. Her hair was the same dark chocolate brown as her sisters' but she had inherited her mother's natural copper highlights. The older sisters had coffee colored eyes but with slightly different shades. However, the youngest of the hybrids had a very different eye color. From afar, her eyes almost appeared brown because they were so dark, but upon a closer look her eyes were an extremely dark yet brilliant shade of green.

Of all Joham's children, the youngest hated her father and her family's way of life the most. But, unlike her brother Nahuel, she was not raised by someone else and did not know any other way to live. Unlike her sister's, she felt remorse for what happened to her mother and considered herself to be more of a monster than Joham because she was the one who caused her fatal wounds.

Joham knew that his youngest disapproved of him attempting to add to his collection of hybrids. But he didn't care except for the fact that every action causes a reaction and her reaction may be to rebel like Nahuel had and leave him. The older sister's had no remorse for human life just like any normal vampire should. But the youngest did, and practically starved herself to keep from killing. But she would get so thirsty that she nearly revealed the vampire secret on many occasions. Joham knew a good solution would lie in the hybrids ability to survive off of human food, but since he wanted to rid her of her remorse he decided that she and her sister's didn't need to know of that little ability. Normally, Joham would not involve his children in his pursuits, but, even though it would be smarter for him to abandon this particular pursuit, he would not give up on the Chicago girl and needed his children's help. He only hoped that his youngest and only gifted daughter would, for once, not be difficult with him.  
***********************************************************************************************************************************

A/N I can't express how sorry I am for the exceedingly late post but as many of my fellow authors say...life happens...I already have part of the next chapter done but no guarantees on how soon it will be but I am by no means abondoning this story as soon as the drama begins. Thank you for those who have sent reviews you have no idea how much they encouraged me.

And just so I don't get into trouble...I don't own twilight i'm just playing with the characters cause I'm not quite creative enough to come up with my own...yet!

Again thank you for your patience with me,

Jonsie


End file.
